"We'll see them again": Longhorns' goals include hopes for an Oklahoma rematch in Big 12 title

In the era of the 12-team Big 12 that featured two divisions, a Texas loss in the Red River Shootout often shut the door on any hope for the Longhorns to earn a spot in the league’s championship game. The game in the Cotton Bowl typically served as a de facto Big 12 semifinal with the defeated party leaving Dallas no longer in control of its own destiny as it pertains to the championship picture.

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That’s not the case in the current iteration of the Big 12. Since the league reinstituted a championship game in 2017, a path to Arlington has existed for the program that returns home without the Golden Hat. That’s one the Longhorns now will work to traverse over the course of the second half of the season, with the expectation that they’ll see Oklahoma on the opposite sideline in AT&T Stadium should they make it there.

“We’ll see them again,” Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy said.

Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian was also asked if he expects to play Oklahoma again in Arlington after a gut-wrenching 34-30 loss to the Sooners in the Cotton Bowl on Saturday. While he wasn’t as explicit as Worthy in his message, he laid out what the course of action for his program will be to turn a rematch into a reality.

“I expect us to get back on the horse,” Sarkisian said. “We’ve got a locker room full of competitors. This is a tight knit group. I’m super proud of them for what they bring every single day. I was proud of them today. So we’ll go one game at a time. I think this locker room is full of champions and our goal is to go win a championship this year. We’ve got to go handle our business.”

The Big 12 brought back the conference championship game in 2017, pitting the two top teams in the league’s standings against each other. The decision was made in response to Baylor and TCU being left out of the initial College Football Playoff in 2014, with the CFP committee espousing the need for a 13th data point.

The Sooners won the first four editions of the No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup, and twice avenged a loss from the round robin regular season. In 2018, Kyler Murray and the Sooners won the second matchup between Texas and Oklahoma in Jerry World after losing a thriller in the Cotton Bowl. Then in 2020, Lincoln Riley‘s team laughed last versus Iowa State after losing to the Cyclones earlier in the year. Even Baylor in 2021, when it made its last stand against Oklahoma State, made up for a loss to the Cowboys earlier in the season.

Examples for the 2023 Longhorns exist, and now entering the bye week, they have an opportunity to do what’s needed to contend for the Big 12 title during their last season as members of the league.

“We’ve got all the confidence in the world,” T’Vondre Sweat said. “We know we didn’t play well today. We’re just going to put it behind us and move forward.”

Oklahoma currently leads the Big 12 with a perfect 3-0 league record. Behind Brent Venables‘ program is West Virginia, who is unblemished through two conference games versus Texas Tech and TCU.

Texas is behind that duo at 2-1, with Kansas, Iowa State, and Texas Tech sharing the same record.

The Longhorns’ path through the rest of the Big 12 features a week off this Saturday, followed by a game at new league member Houston, home tilts versus BYU and Kansas State, back-to-back road trips to TCU and Iowa State, then the season finale on the day after Thanksgiving versus Texas Tech.

According to ESPN, Texas is currently No. 1 in strength of schedule. That can likely be chalked up to the road win versus Alabama in Week 2 and the close contest versus Oklahoma, plus victories over quality Group of 5 teams Rice and Wyoming and demolitions of Baylor and Kansas.

But in remaining strength of schedule, which measures “rank among all FBS teams of remaining schedule strength, from perspective of an average FBS team?”

Texas is No. 46, a ranking that’s 10th in the 14-team Big 12. Oklahoma is 12th at No. 51.

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Of course, Texas can’t play itself and neither can Oklahoma. All the Longhorns can do is play the remaining six games, games they’ll be expected to win whether home or away, in order to set up a potential rematch.

While the pain was obvious on Texas players’ faces after the game, and while they likely weren’t aware of the specifics of the road that lies ahead, there was knowledge that the road to Arlington is still open for the Longhorns despite the heartbreak suffered at the State Fair.

“I feel like everyone is confident knowing we still have a mission,” Jonathon Brooks said. “Everything that we want and need is right in front of us. I feel like we’ve got to build from his loss and be positive about it.”